Tag Archive for Syria Unrest

| December 2, 2012
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Intelligence Report: Signs of activity at Syria’s chemical weapons caché

U.S. int’l official tells the NYT that Assad’s forces are ‘doing some things that suggest they intend to use the weapons.’

By

 

Western intelligence officials said that they have been seeing new signs of activity at Syrian sites used to hold chemical weapons, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

A satellite image of al-Safir, Syria's main chemical weapons facility, near Aleppo.

A satellite image of al-Safir, Syria’s main chemical weapons facility, near Aleppo. Photo by GlobalSecurity.org

The officials said they were not sure whether the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad were preparing to employ the chemical weapons, or rather use them to deter the West from aiding the rebels. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| November 14, 2012
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Syria promises to no longer fire on Israel

In the message conveyed via the UN, Syrian gov’t pledges to prevent future accidental shelling of Israel

By Yoav Zitun

 

The regime in Damascus has pledged to prevent its army from accidentally firing rockets towards Israeli territories, conveying the message via the UN force charged with implementing the ceasefire between Syria and Israel, Channel 1 reported Tuesday.

Golan Heights on Tuesday – Photo: Hagai Aharon

However, officials expressed doubt that the Syrian security forces, which are fighting rebels along the border with Israel, can exercise such control. In many cases, the rebels approach the border during battles with President Bashar Assad‘s army, counting on the security forces to hold fire in order to avoid hitting Israel. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| November 13, 2012
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Arab Newspaper: ‘Israel wants to save Assad’

Ranking rebel leader suggests that Israel is aiding the Syrian regime because it allowed Syrian forces to enter UN-controlled areas of the Syrian part of the Golan Heights.

By Roi Kais

 

 

Bashar Assad – Photo: Reuters

Mustafa al-Sheikh, the head of the Free Syrian Army‘s military council commented on recent tensions on the Golan Heights and said that “Israelis aiding the Syrian regime and its allies in accordance with their partnership.”

In an interview with the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat, al-Sheikh said that “this agreement was clearly evident when Israel allowed Syrian forces to enter UN-controlled zones in the Golan without any objection. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| November 9, 2012
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Moscow tells all concerned, keep Palestinians out of Syria’s fighting

Russia ‘deeply concerned’ about attempts by both sides in Syria to enlist & arm Palestinian refugees

By Reuters

 

Russia is “deeply concerned” by reports that each side in the Syrian conflict is enlisting and arming Palestinian refugees and said on Friday they should be kept out of the fighting.

Syria fighting – Photo: AFP

Syria hosts more than 500,000 Palestinian refugees, according to United Nations figures.

“We call for the participants of the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic to show restraint and do all possible for Palestinian refugees not to be dragged into the Syrian confrontation and for places of their residence not to become objects of hostility,” the Foreign Ministry said. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| November 8, 2012
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3 mortars fired from Syria land in Israel

 

Three explosive mortar shells land in Golan Heights near northern border, as clashes between Assad’s forces, rebels intensify. No one injured

By Yoav Zitun

 

The clashes between Syrian President Bashar Assad‘s forces and opposition forces edged closer to Israel Thursday, as three mortar shells fired in Syria landed in Israel’s territory.

IDF soldiers in the Golan – IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

Two of the shells landed near the border fence, while a third one landed in the Golan Heights community of Alonei HaBashan.

No injuries or damage were reported.

The IDF said that like in several other cases over the past few weeks, the incident was one of misfire and did not target Israel. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| November 7, 2012
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Turkey Seeking Patriot Missiles from NATO on its Syrian Border

Report from Ankara: Turkey is planning to ask NATO for American Patriot Missiles to help defend its southern region from Syria

By Chana Ya’ar

 

Turkey is planning to ask NATO for Patriot missiles to help defend its southern region from Syria, said an Ankara source quoted by international media.

The missile defense battery would be stationed  along the country’s 910 kilometer (560 mile) border with Syria, said a senior Turkish foreign ministry official.

“An imminent official request is to be made,” the source told a reporter on condition of anonymity. “The deployment of these type of missiles as a step to counter threats is routine under NATO regulations,” the official said. Continue Reading »

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| November 6, 2012
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Bashir al Assad’s Grandfather’s 1936 Letter Predicts Muslim Slaughter of Minorities and Praises Zionists

The grandfather of Syria’s embattled dictator Bashir al Assad, Suleiman Assad, warned France of the dangers of a Sunni Islam takeover back in 1936.

He was fearful of a Muslim massacre and appreciated Zionism.

By: Dr. Mordechai Kedar from The Jewish Press

 

I will begin on a personal note. Since the start of the pogroms in Syria a year and a half ago, I have written again and again in my articles on this honorable stage that the Alawites will behave with cruelty and severity and with total insensitivity toward their opposition, because they are aware that they are fighting not only to keep control of the regime in their hands but also – and mainly – in order to keep their heads connected to their shoulders.
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| October 5, 2012
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Erdogan: Turkey’s not seeking war with Syria

Prime Minister  Erdogan says Turkey wants peace, shortly after the parliament authorized military operations against Syria.

News agencies

 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that his country does not want war with Syria but that it is determined to protect its borders and people.

Erdogan was speaking at a news conference held hours after Turkey’s parliament approved a bill authorizing military operations against Syria.

Earlier Thursday, Turkey fired on targets in Syria for a second day following a Syrian shelling that killed five civilians in a Turkish border town.

חמישה אזרחים טורקים נהרגו מהירי הסורי (צילום: AFP)

Aftermath of Syrian strike – Photo: AFP

Erdogan suggested the Syrian shelling was not accidental, saying that such shells had fallen on Turkish territory on seven previous occasions since the civil war began there. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| October 3, 2012
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Dozens of Syrians approaching Golan border cause evacuation

IDF: Possibility of armed suspects nearing border (without infiltrating) facilitates tourists being evacuated from Mt. Hermon.

The IDF evacuated tourists from the top of Mount Hermon Wednesday afternoon, after sighting dozens of possibly armed Syrians approaching the border in the Golan Heights.
Druse resident looks out at Syria from the Golan -Photo: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

Druse resident looks out at Syria from the Golan -Photo: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

The IDF said the suspects did not infiltrate the border into Israel. It was not clear whether they were armed.

Last week, mortar shells fired by the Syrian army strayed into Israel, striking northern Israeli farmlands.

The shells landed harmlessly in open fields, but exploded a short time after farmers were in the area. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| September 29, 2012
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Acting on Russian intel, Report accuses Syrian forces murdered pilots of downed Turkey jet

Al Arabiya cites Syrian documents described how following Russian ‘guidance and information’, Assad’s forces seized & killed Turkish crew members 

 

The crew members of a Turkish fighter jet that crashed into the Mediterranean earlier this year survived the impact, only to be later killed by Syria forces following intelligence provided by Russia, the Al Arabiya network reported on Saturday, citing leaked confidential Syrian documents.

A Turkish Air Force F-4 war plane fires during a military exercise in Izmir, in this May 26, 2010.

A Turkish Air Force F-4 war plane fires during a military exercise in Izmir, in this May 26, 2010. – Photo by Reuters

Al Arabiya’s report came amid months of speculation concerning the June 22 incident, involved the suspected downing of Turkish F-4 reconnaissance jet. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| September 4, 2012
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Syrian Information Minister accuses Mossad of targeted assassinations in Syria

Syria’s Information Minister criticizes Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi after he voiced sympathy for the Syrian revolt: “There is no difference between Mubarak and Morsi, who has done nothing for the Palestinians & continues to sell gas to Israel.”

By Daniel Siryoti, News Agencies & Israel Hayom Staff

 

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi accused Israel’s Mossad on Monday of carrying out targeted assassinations in Syria, as well as aiding the rebellion which has brought Syria to civil war.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi rebel attacks have “the fingerprints of intelligence services, including Israel’s Mossad” – Photo: AP

“We found arms caches with the weapons used by the terrorists, and their source was Israel,” al-Zoebi said.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| August 23, 2012
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Pentagon Report: US puts Syrian unconventional weapons contingencies in place

Pentagon’s concern over Assad’s WMD stockpiles growing; Washington officials say that if the war escalates further, US may choose to send in troops to secure weapons depots

By Yitzhak Benhorin

 

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has made contingency plans to ensure that Syria’s massive unconventional weapons stockpiles are secure, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

Syrian President Bashar Assad Photo: EPA

Syrian President Bashar Assad – Photo: EPA

According to the report, the United States Department of Defense plans to send small teams of special operations troops into Syria should Washington feels that the depots are no longer secure, or that Syrian President Bashar Assadplans to use them on rebel forces. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| August 2, 2012
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U.S. Report: Obama Authorized American Support for the Syrian Rebels

U.S. President Barack Obama signed a secret order authorizing American support for rebels in Syria, sources say.

By Elad Benari

 

President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, U.S. sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama – Reuters

The sources said that Obama’s order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence “finding,” broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad.

Precisely when Obama signed the secret intelligence authorization, an action not previously reported, could not be determined and the full extent of clandestine support that agencies like the CIA might be providing also is unclear, Reuters reported. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| July 28, 2012
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Syria’s chemical weapons & al-Qaida

The al-Qaida network appeared to be prepared to use chemical weapons in the terrorist attacks it was planning in order to cause far greater numbers of casualties in comparison with a conventional terrorist attack.

By Dore Gold

During a nighttime raid in Amman on April 20, 2004, Jordanian security forces foiled a plot by al-Qaida to attack the headquarters of Jordanian intelligence, the Jordanian prime minister’s office and the U.S. Embassy with chemical weapons. Tons of chemical agents were seized that apparently had come from Syria. Jordanian officials estimated that the chemical attack could have killed 20,000 people.

Profile Picture

Dore Gold – facebook Profile Photo

One of the terrorists who was captured confessed on Jordanian television that he worked for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian who had become the commander of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| July 24, 2012
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After threat by Assad official, Russia warns Syria: Do not use chemical weapons.

Syrian Foreign Ministry Statement comes as top Iranian general threatens Arab states that attempt to topple Assad regime.

By Reuters and The Associated Press

 

Russia warned Syria on Tuesday not to use chemical weapons, saying Moscow “proceeds from the assumption” that the government will adhere to its international obligations.

In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Syria had ratified an international protocol in 1968 that bars the use of poison gases as a method of warfare.

A satellite image of al-Safir, Syria's main chemical weapons facility, near Aleppo.

A satellite image of al-Safir, Syria’s main chemical weapons facility, near Aleppo. – Photo by GlobalSecurity.org

Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi acknowledged on Monday that the country had chemical weapons, saying it would not use them to crush rebels but could use them

Also on Tuesday, an Iranian semi-official news agency quoted the commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards as warning “hated Arab” rivals that they could face repercussions for their efforts to topple the Tehran-backed regime of President Bashar Assad in Syria. Continue Reading »

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